1. Present. 2. Apologies

Transcription

1 Bearsden and Milngavie Ramblers and Hillwalkers Minute of the Twenty-Ninth Annual General Meeting Held at the Fraser Centre, Milngavie, on Friday, 2 November 2018 at 7.30 pm 1. Present Jenny Kane (Chairman), Phil McElroy (Secretary), Moira Allan (Treasurer); plus 43 members, including Sue Swinson, Member and Guest Speaker; and Eleanor Peacock, North Strathclyde Area Council Representative (Visitor). 2. Apologies Apologies were received from : Tricia and Bob Pollard, Fiona McCormack, Graham and Grace Duncan, Joan Mackie, Freda Graham, Trevor Hamilton, Fiona Taylor, Imogen Johnstone, Margaret Ballantyne, Sylvia Murphy, Alistair McFarlane, Liz Weir, Lillias Clark, Ian and Linda Weir, Elaine Maclean, Euan Kilpatrick. 3. Minutes of the 28th AGM held on 10 November, 2017 Copies of last year's AGM Minutes were tabled, and as there were no questions or comments on the Minutes, acceptance of the Minutes was proposed by Jane Watt, and seconded by Mary Darke, and agreed by the meeting. 4. There were no matters arising from the previous Minutes. 5. Annual Reports of the Committee and Audited Statement of Accounts. a. Chairman's Report: The Chairman welcomed everyone to the 29th AGM and thanked everyone for coming along. She then introduced the top table, Phil, Secretary; Moira, Treasurer; and Janette, taking the Minutes. She also welcomed back Eleanor Peacock, Representative from North Strathclyde Area Council, attending as a Visitor; and Sue Swinson, our Guest Speaker for the evening. Then having ascertained everyone had signed the Attendance Sheet, proceeded onto the business of the evening. It was my honour to have been elected as the Group's first female Chairman 3 years ago, and it has been a quick, challenging, and busy period, especially 2018, during which we celebrated the Group's 30 years in style. We tried to provide something for everyone, and hoped you would be able to attend at least one event, and I am happy to say all events were well supported. More of which will be in Phil's report. The introduction of the GDPR legislation this year, which proved to be a real minefield, meant a lot of increased administration. However, the Committee pulled together and came up with solutions to dealt with the various changes necessary. Without the Committee's unstinting support I would have been unable to carry out my duty as Chairman, and I thank each of them for this. They all go the extra mile carrying out Committee duties - attending meetings, some in other parts of the country; organising social events; booking buses, booking meeting rooms; putting together the Programme; coordinating and leading walks. A big thank you must go to Peter and Helena Bartos for the huge amount of work they have put into organising our walking holidays abroad, which are greatly appreciated and enjoyed by so many members. This in turn generates a lot of extra work for Moira, our Treasurer, and Hazel, our other signatory, and again a big thank you for all their effort in ensuring we have wonderful holidays abroad. Also, please contact Anne Maxwell if you know of anyone due to have a special birthday or celebration and she will ensure a card is sent on the Group's behalf. Thanks to Anne for doing this for the Group.

2 As alway, the dedication of our Walk Leaders has been amazing, filling the programme with exciting walks each week, and battling against terrible weather conditions earlier this year, doing the recce's, and most important of all, keeping everyone safe. Here I have to make a plea on behalf of all Walk Leaders, READ BREAKING NEWS. After 3 years, I won't miss the weekend phone calls - 'there is no one at the train station?' - that's because the walk is cancelled. Or, 'there is no one at the train station?' -that's because the walk left at 9am not 9.30am! Every year we make an appeal for more Leaders, and its really great to see some new names on our Winter Programme, but we still have to keep asking for some C walk leaders to step forward. We will provide any support needed. Thank you also for the wonderful homebaking provided by the Committee for this evening. No mean feat. I am sure many walking groups would love such a Committee. Thank you to everyone, and I will hand over to Phil for her report. b. Secretary's Report has been yet another busy and very successful year for the Group. After our AGM last year, we were fortunate to have a sparkling December day for our Christmas walk, led by Fiona Taylor, and after being fuelled by mulled wine and festive treats in the Buchanan Arms car park, we set off on our walk returning to the hotel for a delightful 3 course lunch. So popular was this event that Drymen and the Buchanan Arms will be the venue this year and Fiona has kindly offered to lead the walk again. In January we learned the news of our guest speaker, Sue Swinson who attended the Winter World Transplant Games in Switzerland where she won medals in curling and skiing. Congratulations to Sue and we look forward to hearing more from this inspirational lady later in the evening was also the year which marked the 15th anniversary of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 and we should be eternally grateful to those who fought for our right to roam and this Act makes us the envy of the world with our unique access rights. Also in January, we returned to the Ashoka where 36 members enjoyed a tasty and very noisy Curry night! Then our Horrible Heedie's tour of the Scotland Street School in February was most entertaining and informative, learning about CRM design features and the good old school daysappropriate given that 2018 is the 150 th anniversary of the birth of CRM.we also toured the Lighthouse in September, which as you know is a CRM building. You may remember, who could forget the 24 th of February when the Beast from the East arrived with widespread heavy snowfalls causing chaos throughout the country & also meant cancellation of a few walks. This was yet again repeated on 17 th /18 th of March when more walks were cancelled due to further snowfalls from the Pest from the West! After the Quiz Nt.in March, we were rewarded with better weather with a visit to Greenbank Gardens in April and a visit to our local Auchentoshan distillery in May. May also saw the first of our 30 th Anniversary celebrations when 52 members set off by coach for a w/end in Braemar. We were blessed with fantastic weather, a fabulous choice of quality walks and a very comfortable traditional Scottish hotel. Thank you to Jenny and her team for arranging this fun w/end and of course to the walk Leaders without whom, the w/end would not have been the same!!!!!!!...obviously!!!! Some led 2 walks and went up to recce their walks in advance. On May, the 25 th to be exact, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect. This brought a frenzy of head scratching, a flurry of s, an extra committee meeting and lots of form filling, but thankfully things have settled down and apart from verbal consent for photographs, we have so far escaped unscathed!

3 The second Anniversary event took place in June when Jenny & Thea led a walk from the original programme of 1988 around Mugdock. June was also the month the Elie Chain walk, led by Fiona T., appeared in the programme-a challenging day and not for the faint hearted. Happy to say, we had no casualties, unlike the article on Reporting Scotland a few weeks ago when we learned of the number of fatalities which have occurred throughout the years!! Also in June, Bearsden and Milngavie Group featured twice in the Ramblers Walk magazine when Fiona Taylor s photograph was chosen as 'one of the favourites' in the 'fun in the great outdoors' competition. A short article and lovely photo of Sue proudly displaying her clutch of medals which she won at the Winter Transplant games also was published..and we look forward to seeing them & hearing more from Sue later. We had a wide variety of social events this year and a new one to the Group was a well attended Treasure Hunt around Milngavie in August. So popular was this event that Fiona along with the social committee are hoping to arrange another one, perhaps around Mugdock next summer, so don t miss out on this! The summer Big Bus Walks were well attended as ever-selkirk in June, Pitlochry in July and the Falkland area in August-thank you to all the leaders and Moira for arranging the meal in Pitlochry & Euan Kilpatrick, our bus co-ordinator, collecting the cheques and collating the names etc.. The Algarve was the destination for this year s annual holiday where 34 members enjoyed fabulous September weather as they explored the coastline and sites of the Iberian peninsula. We extend a huge thankyou to Peter and Helena Bartos for the hours they must have spent researching this holiday, the suitability and location of the hotel, the buses and sourcing walks. Of course a tremendous thanks to our wonderful band of Leaders who on many occasions, had to think on their feet!! There was no recce party for this trip Talking of Leaders, no report would be complete without mentioning Wednesdays! The Wednesday Wanderers, led by Graham, Grace, Trevor and Joan, have led 24 walks this year although, for the first time since The Gang of Four started leading, they felt obliged for safety s sake to cancel one walk completely - and reschedule and curtail another. There was an average attendance of 30 (slightly up from 28 in 2017). This year, the most popular walk was close to home - the Glasgow Mural Trail. Train walks always prove popular, giving the regular drivers the opportunity for a lunchtime refreshment (or two). In addition to the walking and talking, coffee stops and good pub lunches remain key factors in promoting the sociability of the walks. Many thanks to this Gang and the wonderful way they manage to source such good coffee & lunch stops. None of them here tonight. The gang would like to re-iterate that, as leaders, they get great pleasure from the companionship they receive on their Wanderings and thank all those who go along for their good company. Wednesday Morning Walkers It is now approximately 18 months since Karine Davison became co-ordinator of the Group back in May 2017, taking over the helm from Andrew & Lilias Summers. She shares the leading with the help of Mike Douglas and Steve Plastock, which means they lead one walk every 6 wks. Karine inherited a list of 142 names and in Easter this year, she reduced it to 84, removing those who hadn t been walking since she took over the group. However, the list has now grown to 108. On average, about 35 people walk every alternate Wednesday. They start off as one group, with Leader & Backmarker. However, having been informed by Leader of the walk before they start off, the Shorter Walkers can leave at any time [they also have a leader & Back Marker in place] Karine would like to thank Sylvia Murphy, Fiona Sinclair and Liz Gallacher for wearing and being vest keepers for the Shorter Group. Thanks again to Lilias & Andrew who, when they are out walking, have helped all the leaders with their local knowledge of so many routes and paths.

4 Karine extends a personal thanks to Lilias and Andrew for responding to a few phone calls for information on routes that she has walked many times with them, but been so busy chatting or enjoying the scenery, that sections were missing in my mind! Can t imagine Karine chatting whilst walking!!!!! They even came out with her one sunny evening to walk at Dougalston where they discovered steps in Fairway that gave a good shortcut to the Woodland Path! The Wednesday Morning walkers have had a very sociable year enjoying Christmas lunch at Cyan last December with a walk beforehand for those who wanted. Also the Soup & Sandwich Lunch at Caulders in August proved very popular with a walk to & from for those who wanted, just meeting at Mugdock itself. So popular was this walk that it will be repeated. This year s Christmas lunch will be Andiamo on 5 th December, with a walk beforehand. Finally, she also says thank you to those who help supplement the ritual of the Sweetie Stop. Last month saw the culmination of the 30 th Anniversary celebrations with a Ceilidh held in Milngavie Bowling Club attended by 63 members. Thank you to Sheila Crawford who called the dances, brought her own music and managed to get everyone on the floor for what was a truly sociable evening. Sheila certainly required a great deal of patience as she kept saying that We were worse than her 3 rd yr pupils & at times had to walk us through the jigs and reels! Great fun _shame we can t have one every year!!! Sheila also baked the Anniversary cake and along with Imogen decorated it very creatively. Photos on the website of the cake & dancers. Thanks go to Jenny and her Anniversary team of Thea, Anne Maxwell & Fiona Denman for organising this very successful and memorable evening. A lot of time & a lot of planning! Now for some Community news. For the last three years, a small group of us have been working with Milngavie in Bloom to transform the beginning of the West Highland Way from an overgrown unkempt area into the pleasant colourful walkway it is now. In fact the Council have recognised our improvement and have constructed a very attractive wall half way up the walkway. Milngavie in Bloom members and the local residents.not to mention the masses of WHW walkers passing by, truly appreciate our input and each month, we are rewarded with home baked scones washed down with tea/coffee. New gardeners and anyone interested in working outdoors will be made most welcome only a couple of hours, once a month from April to October! In October,The First Aid course, delivered by St Andrew's First Aid was attended by 14 members who responded to the offer for First Aid training, posted on B/News. It was Mugdock and happy to say we all passed and have now received our certificate. Just to note that this course was funded by excess money from the Strathclyde Area funds, NOT our Group, funds. Membership stands at a healthy 300 members and with a number of approximately 100 walks (12 A, 40B, 44C and 4D), we can safely say it s been yet another successful and action packed year. Access Report by Imogen Johnstone, our Access Officer. There has been continued involvement of a group of Ramblers with Milngavie in Bloom during the year, helping to maintain the planting at the beginning of the West Highland Way. There had been a request form Milngavie in Bloom that the ramblers should take over the management of this project, however this was declined as we did not feel it was an appropriate role for a rambling club. The annual meeting of the Ramblers joint Footpath and Access Forum was attended in November of last year (i.e.by Imogen, our Access Officer.) Awareness was raised before Christmas 2017 of major works arising from a change in the water supply which potentially could affect walking routes between Burncrooks Reservoir and Bankell Distribution Reservoir including the West Highland Way. Our concerns about this were raised with a local politician. There have been three meetings of the East Dunbarton Council access forum in the Spring followed by a tour on June 4 th around a few of the areas where concerns had been raised in the meetings. These were all at the east end of EDC as last year the west had been the main focus. Imogen Johnstone Oct 2018

5 Finally, I would like to thank Jenny who has worked tirelessly over the past 3 years, spending hours sifting through paperwork, attending meetings, coping with the rash of s eg. GDPR, but especially this year when she presided over the anniversary celebrations and organised all the wonderful events. However, as she steps down, we are very fortunate to welcome Elaine Maclean as our new president and we all look forward to working along with her and having her on board the Committee. Elaine is on holiday at the moment but promises to return for our next Committee meeting. Phil McElroy, Nov 2 nd 2018 c. Treasurer's Report We currently operate 2 accounts for our Group. Number 1 Main Account Number 2 Self Funded Account No 1 Main Account Year end balance - 1, We had an opening balance of and credits to the account were: Group funding from Area, including recce expenses allowance From Ramblers Worldwide Holidays Walking Partnership Advert Sales From Area to finance First Aid and NavigationTraining From our Self Funded account to help with recce expenses Correcting entry item through wrong account Expenditure from the account was: Walk programmes (Printing , stamps/envelopes ) Recce Expenses Venue booking for first aid and Navigation training Website domain costs AGM Expenses 74.73, room hire for committee meetings Administration costs Correcting entry per above The closing balance includes 740 for our first aid training. After taking that in to account the balance is within the recommended level, for the end of the financial year, of 500. This means that our 2018/2019 funding should not be affected. No 2 Self Funded Account Year end balance We had an opening balance of and credits to the account were: Day walks by bus including any meals Holidays, comprising Czech Republic 591, Braemar and Algarve Social events receipts Donations from various members Correcting entry

6 Expenditure from the account was: Day walks by bus including meals Holidays, including Czech Republic 578, Braemar , Algarve and Norway Social events payments First aid deposits and other costs Correcting entry item through wrong account Cards etc for special occasions Bus walks had a small deficit of 24 due to keeping the payment at the previous year s level. Holidays all broke even as did social events. The variance there is for Ceilidh payments received of 855 with only 60 paid out so far. The account recommended limit is 1500 but when the ceilidh expenses have been taken in to account our balance shows which is within the balance guidelines. I would like to formally record our thanks to Area Council for providing the finance to enable us to provide both First Aid and Navigation courses to our leaders. Finally, many thanks again to Graham Duncan for auditing the accounts this year. Moira Allan Treasurer Bearsden and Milngavie Group 6a. Election of Honorary Officers: a. Chairman: Elaine Maclean - proposed by Hazel Miller, and seconded by Thea Stanton. b. Secretary: Phil McElroy - proposed by Anne Maxwell and seconded by Peter Bartos. c. Treasurer: Moira Allan - proposed by Sheila Crawford and seconded by Karine Davison. 6b. Election of Ordinary Committee Members: Leaving are Dave Clark, Anne Maxwell, and Thea Stanton. The Chairman thanked them for all their hard work and involvement over the last three years. Also thanks was given to Janette Swanson, who has been the Minute Secretary for the past three years and whose duties are being taken over by Madeleine Blakely. The following members have been put forward and elected: Pam Lees - proposed by Moira Allan, and seconded by Thea Stanton Sue Swinson - proposed by Karine Davison and seconded by Helen Donaghy. 6c. Election of Honorary Auditor Graham Duncan - proposed by Jane Watt and seconded by Sue Swinson. Graham was thanked for being willing to stand again and for all his work auditng the accounts over the past year.

7 7. Appointment of Representatives to: North Strathclyde Area Council - Karine Davison has agreed to continue as the Group Representative, along with Committee Members - Moira, Phil and Elaine. Agreed. Scottish Council - Karine Davison has agreed to continue as the Group's Representative. 8. Any Other Competent Business: As there was no further business, the Chairman drew the meeting to a close by thanking everyone again, and advised there would be a short break for tea/coffee and homebaking, and then Sue Swinson would give her presentation entitled 'A Small Window of Opportunity Opens'.